My first laptop, a Thinkpad T61

Well this is my first laptop so I spent a lot of time agonizing trying to decide what brand to get and what model.

Finally I found the Thinkpad T61 and just kind of jumped on it. I probably should have spent more time researchin it but it just caught my attention for a few reasons. It just looked like it was well built, things like the metal screen hinges and the body styling and stuff just kinda seemed different than all the other laptops I looked at.

So anyways I kinda bought it on an impulse, I hope it wasn't a mistake. What do you guys think? You guys own Thinkpads so I'm hoping you can give me some advice as a new laptop owner and new Thinkpad owner.

I remember a couple years ago when my friend graduated from college and went to work for Intel, they gave him a Thinkpad to use for his job. I remember thinking how it looked more like a quality piece of machinery not some kind of toy like some laptops. I dunno maybe it's just psychological but when I see thinkpads my brain thinks "that is a serious laptop" and the idea of quality pops into my mind. I hope I'm not wrong about this! I hope I wasn't just tricked and seduced by their styling lol...

FYI you are probably wondering what I got, here's the setup I did. I spent way too much money... But I wanted my first laptop to be good not some piece of crap slow turd.

Specs
Thinkpad T61
15.4" WSXGA+
T7800 2.6 ghz
Nvidia Quadro FX 570M 256 megs
4 gigs of ram
160 gig 7200 rpm hard drive
1 gig Intel Turbo Memory (hope it actually does anything)
Intel Pro a/g/n or whatever wireless networking card option
Vista Business 64 bit edition
trackpoint with fingerprint reader
9 cell battery
dvd burner
bluetooth

Anyways hope it works good.

 

Erm, you want to spend about 500$ for 4 GB RAM considering how cheap and easily upgradable the RAM sticks are... wow.

And another 500$ for T7800... why? do you need it?

 

You're absolutely right about the ram, but I actually bought the ram before buying the laptop so I got a good price. I didn't mention that, i didn't think anyone would care, but now that you mention it I guess it is a little misleading, it makes it look like that is what I ordered from Lenovo. My order from Lenovo is just for 1 gig of RAM. I'm going to give the 1 gig to my Dad, his laptop really needs it.

The upgrade from the lowest cpu (T7100) to the T7800 was $343. Why? Well if you really need a reason just say for bragging rights The real answer is I just wanted the fastest one they offered. It might come in handy, it's hard for me to predict what I will need to use this laptop for in school. I think the T7800 is probably faster than my home computer CPU which would be nice.

 

Alright then.

And you can brag about your CPU now...

 

That's not fair, I have a T7200 and I run 3 Virtual Machines at once, and other big things and this sod gets a .. T7800 .. I hate you!

Just kidding, nice notebook, you sound as though you're seeking our approval. Of course you've got approval asking about a top line Thinkpad in a Thinkpad forum!

 

Great setup, you will love it. I got mine about 2 weeks ago and I am enjoying it very much still.

 

LOL yeah maybe I was seeking approval without realizing it hehe... I guess I'm just nervous about the purchase. It's a lot of money so I hope it is good quality!

Just an update (bad news): My credit card was declined!!! It's actually a Visa check card, and I have PLENTY of money in the bank, but I didn't realize my check card had a $900 transaction limit. SO basically it would have been impossible for me to pay for the dang laptop with my current credit and check cards, none of them have a high enough limit.

Fortunately when I called my bank then increased my check card transaction limit so I can pay now, if I could ever get through to the credit dept. of Lenovo! I keep getting B-slapped by their stupid message that basically says, we are too busy right now, screw you, call some other undetermined time when we MIGHT be less busy...

I am not impressed with Lenovo's call centers at all. I have called to ask some general questions about the T61 specs and the people in the call center don't know basic information about the product they are selling! They couldn't answer simple questions like what is different between these 2 models, what kind of battery life (ballpark) does this model get, what are your shipping times usually like, etc.

 

Its a very nice piece of hardware you will be getting. Like anything else, if you sit down and look for problems you will find some. I would not be too nervous about it, after trying a Dell when my Thinkpad showed up I was immediately impressed.

 

Well all my friends were trying to get me to buy a Dell but every Dell laptop I have held and used felt cheap and flimsy like it would break easily.

This sounds wierd but I get more pleasure out of using something that has a "quality" feel to it, for example even if you compare 2 tools that both work equally well to get a job done, if one of them looks and feels more well-made or more sturdy or higher quality, I get more satisfaction out of using that one, even if both have the same capability... Does that make sense?

Might as well get the tool that makes you more happy when you use it even if you have to pay a little more It's worth it to me if it makes me enjoy it more. Some people can be equally happy with a more flimsy or cheaply made tool as long as it gets the job done. I respect that, they save money that way, but I'm not one of those people, I can't look past the cheap flimsy feel and it would bother me constantly.

 

I wasn't going to say anything since you had already ordered, but if you end up having to order again, I'd get rid of Intel TurboMemory, those that have it seem to think its more trouble then its worth.

Also, yes if you have general questions don't even bother with the Lenovo call centers just search the forums, you should be able to find every answer here.

 

This is exactly why I went from a Dell Vostro to a Thinkpad. I want to use something I enjoy using, and I enjoy the T61.

 

Cool, glad to see I'm not the only one who enjoys quality.

It's nice to see how active this forum is, I'll ask all my questions here from now on!

 

Really, what kind of trouble does it cause?

 

People have been experiencing lockups/BSODs. I'm not really sure of the circumstances or if it was ever resolved, but from what I've gathered about the Turbo Memory, a number of people have complained of problems and I've seen a few asking how to disable it. A few computer manufacturers don't even offer it and I think that may be the reason why.

Read about some of the problems people have been having here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=137242&page=7&highlight=intel+turbo+memory

For me I didn't buy it in the first place because it seems kind of useless.. They say it saves you ~5% on battery life, it doesn't work on XP, in some cases performance got worse after adding turbo memory (see here: http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc.aspx?i=3009 ). It just doesn't seem worth the little possible gain for adding an extra piece of hard ware in a laptop that I want to keep as light and as cool as possible.

 

Hmm great...

Well if I have issues, I suppose to "disable" it, I could just remove the module...

 

Yup, you can actually disable it in the bios.

 

I would just order without turbo memory still no actual data on it doing anything all besides mess up systems. I should be getting my notebook tonight and i can post some more info tomarrow hopefully.

 

Dang it... Someone at the credit card services tried to run my card again and it went through, but the FIRST person who was trying to run my card is STILL trying to run my card, thinking it hasn't gone through yet! So of course, my bank is declining it, because it's a duplicate charge!

And I can't get through to the dang person who is still trying to run my card to tell them to stop and just let my order process!!!

ARGH!

So far I am severely unimpressed with Lenovo's call centers and customer service.

 

For me the closest competitor to the T61p with my specs is the HP 8510w. I considered a lot of diff makes, models but in the end it came down to the HP or thinkpad. Personally I think impulse shopping notebooks esp something that I plan on using often and spending a fair bit of money on is a bad idea. More often than not the buyer will end up dissapointed.

I noticed you ( the OP) mentioned your concerns about the 15.4 T61p being big and bulky and you're right it is for a 15.4 notebook. Thing is you have to remember you're packing alot of power in that package and rarely do you see the same power offered in a small compact package, its just not very possible. One exception might be the HP business line. They seem to have a knack of making powerful notebooks and doing it in a way that doesnt seem bulky. If that's a major concern concern then I think HP would be a good choice. I picked thinkpad for a variety of reasons - I like their accidental plans, international warranty(i'll be taking it overseas) and great value for money among others. I think I would probably just be as happy if I picked HP but I'll be missing out on some things.

Again I just think one has to be realistic in their expectations...and do lots of research. Which is why forums like this is a good place to start before deciding on what to buy.

 

I'm also a fellow first time buyer. I constantly look around at the latest notebooks, and still feel I made the best choice with this machine. I may have gone with a Macbook simply bc of its compatibility with the ipod and my utter disdain for Vista.

Hope everything meets your expectations.

 

Well I got a better price on the T61 than I could get on the HP... a LOT better. At the time that seemed important to me but I actually could afford to spend more on my laptop if it would insure better quality and performance.

However, I am getting more and more worried as I keep seeing all the horror stories posted lately about the T61p laptop issues.

I am starting to wonder if I made a bad decision and should cancel my order...

Anyone else who actually OWNS a T61 or T61p who would like to chime in here? Should I cancel and buy an HP 8510w?

Money is actually not an issue, I can pay more if it means getting a better product.

 

i couldnt be happier with my t61

 

I have been a proponent of HP for some time. My last several laptops came from them with the last few being workstations. I can say that I am Very Happy with the T61p.

@Hellbore,
My last HP when new was 4400 dollars. My T61p came in at just over 1400, enough said. Well, I rode the 8510(w/p) fence for a while and it just did not seem wrth it to pay 1000-1200 dollars more for the same configuration.

There is a one single issue with this laptop and it is driver related, and I am sure it will be sorted soon. I would whole heartedly recommend the T61p without issue to my own mom.

 

Andre, that's interesting, I tried today to price out an HP 8510w. It looks like a damn fine machine. Unfortunately, even with an educational price break (WCSA/NASPO contract pricing) I still was not able to get the price down to anywhere near what the T61 priced out at.

Not only that, I also had all kinds of trouble with their website trying to select the options I wanted. I REALLY don't like their web interface, it's a lot harder to customize your options than on Lenovo's site. Then with the contract pricing, they don't even let you pick the fastest CPU. I got the T7800 2.6 ghz CPU on my T61. To get that from HP I would have to use the regular pricing and I would pay something like $1200 more than the T61 I ordered.

It sounds to me like HP is a very solid choice and considering all the Lenovo problems lately, and considering how Lenovo has screwed up and delayed my order so far already, I really was on the verge of cancelling my Lenovo order and placing an order with HP, but shoot... Just trying to use their website made me so angry I decided I'll take my chances with Lenovo!

Tomorrow morning I'll call them and hopefully sort things out with my order. It has been a nightmare so far, being on hold for hours and having different call centers refer me back and forth to each other, no one seems to know who the right person to talk to is. If I can't work this out I will just have them cancel my order and I'll try again with a new order. that might be easier than this call center dance i have been doing lately with them... Grrr... It's back and forth between call centers on different ends of the world, trying to explain the situation to people who really don't understand English very well, and who sound like they REALLY don't care at all, then next thing I know, the call centers are closed for the day and I get to start the whole mess again tomorrow! ARGH!!!! LENOVO CURSE YOUR CRAPPY CALL CENTERS!!!!!

 

With HP, you have to use IE for some reason the HP site does not play nice with FF. When I was looking I experienced near the same thing because I too am a WSCA contract purchaser. Hint: After you get the laptop you may want to ask your rep to eat the tax because it is known that you cannot be reimbursed tax. And, call CS for a discount associated with all the hell they put you through with your order. The price I quoted above was after cuts like those. The unit was originally ~1896 after tax. I could not have asked for a better price for this hardware.

 

I am very happy with my T61p. For under $1300 I got an excellent laptop... then I added 4GB ram and 7k200gb drive on my own. It plays Oblivion great and I just started playing Guild Wars on it too.

 

Well I woke up at 5 AM this morning to start early on calling Lenovo Credit Card Services to get my order sorted out. This is because 5 AM my time is 8 AM their time. Their recording says their business hours start at 8 AM.

After spending an entire hour constantly re-dialing the number and getting their "go away" hangup message, I was starting to get really frustrated, don't these people work the hours they say they do? I mean, come on, THEY said to call this number in their email, and the recording says to call during these hours... Then just as I was losing hope, the following email popped up in my Inbox:

So... Apparently they are there but not answering the phone. Ah well, the good news is, my order is no longer on Credit Hold, so I may finally get my laptop after all! I don't ever want to deal with their Credit Card Services again though. You think the Customer Service call center is bad, or Sales, or Tech Support? You have not experienced true call center hell until you try to call Credit Card Services. You must call over and over because they refuse to put you on hold. They just play a message that states the business hours, and says that if you are hearing this message between those hours, leave a message and we'll call you back, then it hangs up on you. Well, leaving a message sometimes gets you a call back, sometimes it doesn't. When it does, it takes a LONG time. Hours. And you never know when to expect the call. You might be in school, or in a meeting, or in the bathroom. That's how it usually happened for me. Anyway, then if there is any slight problem and you need to talk to your bank again, they make you hang up and call back... So you get to start over with the process that takes HOURS AND HOURS trying to get in touch with them! This can take literally days, because you might need to make 2 or 3 calls to your bank to figure out the whole confused mess with duplicate charges and different people trying to run your card, etc...

SO, in sum, the most impossible to reach people are the Credit Card Services people. You do NOT want to get in that situation. Lesson learned... I will NEVER try to buy from Lenovo again unless I am absolutely 100% sure my card is going through the first time they try to process it!

Now for the shocker... You always hear about the stereotypical bad call center in India or China or something... Well guess what, this severely customer-unfriendly call center is located in... Durham, NC, USA!!! So much for the sterotypes! We have a virtual call center hell rght here in our own country! LOL!!

The good news is it's not stuck in credit hold any more, but I still have no idea when it will ship, THAT remains to be seen. I ordered it the 19th and my order status still says "In process" and the estimated ship date says 10-8-07. Sigh... So that would be 2 weeks from today, then figure in maybe a week in transit, I might not get this laptop for 3 more weeks It's gonna be a tough 3 weeks waiting.

I almost think it would be worth it to buy a pre-configured system and not have to wait. ALMOST. But no, I'm glad I ordered what I did, it will be fun to lord my T7800 CPU over my friends... Oh, and over YOU guys!

I am still holding out hope that they will ship it sooner, I have seen a few other guys post that their laptop shipped a week or 2 before the estimated ship date. Maybe I'll get lucky, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

I had a similar issue with the credit card. AmEx considered it possible fraud and would not process it before contacting me. I tried and tried to call the number in the email to no avail. I ended up calling my sales rep and having here push it through by sending a message to the CC department. Right after that my unit shipped.

 

Good luck...
Lenovo customer service(what a oxymoron) is worse than chinese --well as a matter of fact, i can't even fathom anything crappy enough to compare it to...

 

So, what facts is your racist statement based? .- ... ... .... --- .-.. .

 

That's an incredibly rude and racist comment. If I was Chinese I would be very offended. Plus I bet most of what you buy is made in China so how can you hate on China? Just try not to buy any products from China. Good luck! I bet you can't do it. You can't live your easy lifestyle without the products supplied by the industrial giant that is China.

I always hear people complain about things being made in China. Well, most places in the world have a free market and if there are lots of products sold that are made in China, it's because the people are buying them and creating that demand. So in effect, the people have spoken over the years and chosen that they are happy with Chinese products, so gradually we buy more and more from them. That's economics and money talks. If importing goods from China didn't somehow improve our lifestyles they wouldn't have become such a large source of goods and services.

It's not like some King of the World decided that you can only buy stuff that is made in China and the people didn't have any choice..lol... It's the general public that drives China trade.

ANYWAYS... I actually agree Lenovo customer support has been crappy lately but I don't think it is China's fault! It's Lenovo's fault.

 

Lenovo is a Chinese company.

 

Well I was hoping to get lucky and have my laptop ship today, I read that a few people placed their order then it shiped a day or two after their credit card cleared. I guess I'm not that lucky. It sucks having to wait

The memory and hard drive I ordered at the same time have come already lol... They aren't much fun though without a laptop to put them in.

 

I'm interested in the reply to the first question on this thread -- is Turbo Memory worth it? Is it possible to add Turbo Memory afterwards, or do they have to build it into the laptop during customization?